Investing in Antique Nickels

Composition: Cupro-Nickel: 25% Ni, Balance Cu

Actual Value of Metal Content: 9.7 cents

Weight: 5.000 g

Diameter: 0.835 in., 21.21 mm

Thickness: 1.95 mm

Edge: Plain

The Westward Journey Nickel Series: A Retrospect on Thomas Jefferson

• Which two historical events does the Westward Journey Nickel Series celebrate?

  The new designs remembers the Louisiana Purchase (which assembles the US Territory as we know it today) and the westward venture of explorers Lewis and Clark.

• Who said or wrote the words in the Ocean In View nickel?

  Captain Clark wrote these words in the nearing anticipation of a long-cherished view of the Pacific Ocean.

• The first design in the Nickel Series is based on Thomas Jefferson's "Peace Medal." To whom were these medals meant for?

  These medals were to serve as gifts to the American Indian chiefs they would meet.

• How many US circulating coins have shown a president facing forward as on the 2006 nickel?

  None. The forward-facing Jefferson portrait is unprecedented.

• Is a nickel the most valuable coin in the US coin collecting trade? Nope nope nope.

Further Informative Links

What's the most valuable U.S. coin?

The Top 10 All-Time Rare Coin Price List

Van Simmons

President, David Hall Numismatics

The Top 50 U.S. Coins of All Time

PCGS, Professional Coin Grading Service

Ed Reiter - December 27, 1999

Buffalo nickel (1913–1938)

1) The buffalo nickel, featured a profile of a Native American, most likely modeled by Iron Tail, Two Moons and Adoeette.

2) The model for the bison may have been "Black Diamond," courtesy of the New York City's Central Park Zoo.

3) James Earle Fraser's design of the buffalo nickel is generally considered to be among the best designs of any U.S. coin.

4) Often, dateless buffalo nickels can have their dates "restored" by applying a ferric chloride solution to the date area. Among collectors, this is an unenviable costly “value or information” trade-off.

5) A radical example of design change for the Indian Head nickel was the hobo nickel, which consisted of modifying the Native American and his background to come up with an original work of art. Usually only the date mark survived such artistic ventures.

6) The 1937-D "3-Legged" buffalo nickel was a notable design variety was produced in 1937, which consisted of the buffalo's missing right foreleg. In Mint State condition this coin is worth a significant amount of money, what with only about 20,000 being produced. Counterfeiters do not have much luck here since genuine errors have other features that help them pass scrutiny.

7) Some 1.2 billion buffalo nickels were issued during the coin's 26-year lifespan.

8) Given the public prestige of this design, the Mint has reused the design on the 2001 commemorative buffalo dollar and the 2006-Date American Buffalo gold bullion coin.

Profile of Jefferson nickel (1938–2004)

1) In 1980, the Philadelphia mint began using a "P" mint mark on all nickels. This design is by far the most common currently in circulation.

2) "Wartime" nickels-- 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese--were created from mid 1942 to 1945. These coins are usually a bit darker than regular nickels, said to be due to their manganese content.

3) An unofficial variety of the wartime coin dated 1944 was made in 1954 when counterfeit nickels were produced by Francis LeRoy Henning of Erial, New Jersey. It is estimated that more than 100,000 of Henning's nickels reached circulation.

Click here for more on the Shield nickel and Liberty Head V nickel.

1) coins with fully struck steps on the image of Monticello, preferably five or six full steps

2) proofs and special mint set coins (1965–1967)

3) 1950-D, the lowest mintage of all the Jeffersons minted

4) in uncirculated condition, the 1939-D, 1939-S, and 1942-D